What I Write When I'm Not Writing

Available Now: Omega Rising by Anna Kyle + Bonus Playlist!

If you didn’t already know, OMEGA RISINGby Anna Kyle is out now, and available from World Weaver Press.

Cass Nolan has been forced to avoid the burn of human touch for her whole life, drawing comfort instead from her dreams of a silver wolf—her protector, her friend. When her stalking nightmares return, her imaginary dead sister’s ghost tells her to run, Cass knows she should listen, but the sinfully hot stranger she just hired to work on her ranch has her mind buzzing with possibilities. Not only does her skin accept Nathan’s touch, it demands it. Cass must make a decision—run again and hope she saves the people who have become her family, or stand and fight. Question is, will it be with Nathan or against him?

Nathan Rivers’ life is consumed by his quest to find the Omega wolf responsible for killing his brother, but when the trail leads him to Cass and her merry band of shapeshifters, his wolf wants only to claim her for himself. When evidence begins piling up that Cass is the Omega he’s been seeking, things become complicated—especially since someone else wants her dead. Saving her life might mean sacrificing his own, but it may be worth it to save the woman he can’t keep from reaching for.

At this point, no one should be surprised that I asked Anna to share a playlist with us of songs that inpired her during the writing of OMEGA RISING. Here’s what she had to say:

Music has been and still is a huge part of my life. Ninety percent of my writing is done to music. Many memories, good and bad, are attached to specific songs forever. Here’s a small portion of my soundtrack of writing OMEGA RISING. No judging allowed.

Can’t Hold Us by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
I listened to the entire CD often. I even wrote a scene (that didn’t make the cut) for the barbecue dance party at the end and this song comes on. Tomas, the DJ, keeps repeating “great white shark on shark week raw” over and over until Nathan finally notices everyone laughing and staring at him. He flips off Tomas. It refers back to an early scene in the book. Every time I hear that song I think of that scene.

Are We All We Are by Pink
When I changed the bbq dance party scene to Cass’s POV I used this song (playing in my head, I don’t mention the title). It’s perfect. “We are the people that you never get the best of” LOVE it. She’s a phenomenal singer. I got to see her in concert for her The Truth About Love tour and wow. Just wow.

Bleed It Out by Linkin Park
Yes. Perfect for when I was stuck, which happened a lot. First chorus is just guitar and vocals, then clapping, then everything comes together with the raw, trademark vocals of Linkin Park. Best played at a very high volume so I can bounce around my living room. Minutes to Midnight is a goddamn treasure.

Demons by Imagine Dragons – the lyrics, the beat, that voice. Gets me right in the gut. So very Nathan.

Anna Kyle wrote her first story at age 12 on an old manual typewriter, and though the technology has changed, she hasn’t stopped since. She lives in the Midwest surrounded by family and friends and dogs and horses. They’ve forgiven her (mostly) when they appear in her stories. She reads everything she can get her hands on, but romances, especially paranormals, are her favorite. Vampires, humans, Fae, shapeshifters, or demons, it doesn’t matter—Anna’s heart goes pitter-pat for the Happily Ever After. Hot heroes + strong, funny heroines = awesome.